America’s largest retailer said goodbye to two dozen locations in 2023

There are few places more essential to our weekly routine than the grocery store—and it’s fair to say we all have a go-to spot. Maybe it’s the most convenient supermarket. Perhaps it’s the grocer with the best prices. Or it could simply be the local one-stop-shop warehouse club that offers products for just about all your household needs.

Regardless of what drives us to our favorite food retailer, these essential stores have earned a special place on our to-do list, and perhaps even our hearts. That being said, hearing that a store is about to be gone for good can shake up people’s weekly routines.
As numerous shoppers have come to learn, 2023 has been a year filled with various retailers closing down. While some supermarkets have shut their doors due to financial underperformance, others have left customers with no explanation.

America’s largest retailer said goodbye to two dozen locations in 2023. The first round of closures kicked off in February when Walmart announced it would be closing six stores across four states—Illinois, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Florida. The company cited poor financial performance as a reason behind the shutdowns, adding, “There is no single cause for why a store closes and our decision is based on several factors.”

As the year progressed, the closures racked up, with Walmart shutting the doors of four additional Chicago locations. “The simplest explanation is that collectively our Chicago stores have not been profitable since we opened the first one nearly 17 years ago—these stores lose tens of millions of dollars a year, and their annual losses nearly doubled in just the last five years,” the retailer said in a statement.

By November, Walmart hit 24 closures across 15 states and Washington D.C., most recently shutting down a store in Norwalk, Conn, last month. While Target is expected to take over the lot, there has been “no further action” since plans were announced in April, according to The Hour.